Twenty years ago futurist Alvin Toffler looked ahead in his
book The Third Wave to the century in which we are now living,
and predicted that high tech would be accompanied by high
touch. He suggested that as our work becomes more information driven
and computer centered and less hands-on, we would find more avenues
for direct, sense-satisfying experiences.
From our Grand Avenue corner of the world, it seems that our customers
are finding a myriad of uses for handmade, heavily textured, "high touch"
papers.
A recent customer was leafing through one of the books that hold samples
of the 2000-plus decorative papers that we stock. Occasionally she would
stop to slide her fingers under the plastic sleeve and touch a paper
sample, needing to confirm by touch the tactile qualities that
drew her eyes to a particular paper. "A friend warned me," she said,
"that once I start looking at papers I'd get hooked."
People who are hooked on papers often select papers by feel as much as by look. It's no surprise that artists get excited about
the texture of, for instance, an exquisite cold press watercolor
paper, or by the delicacy of a fine handmade Japanese calligraphy
paper. More and more people, many who don't consider themselves
artists, are becoming enthralled these days by unusual decorative papers
that challenge our notions of what paper looks like and feels like.
Imagine the touch of a thick sheet of coconut hair and tree debris aptly called Thai Bird's Nest, or an embossed relief paper that looks and feels like it captured some ancient alphabet from a stone
rubbing. Another high texture Thai paper called Stucco lives
up to its name and is available with metallic patinas. New African
papers are thick and soft, deeply ridged or speckled with exotic
fibers. A French Canadian paper, boldly colored lime or coral,
has inclusions of peppercorns, fennel seeds, bay leaf and other herbs.
This paper, Steak and Spices, takes the award for appealing to
the most senses: it's bumpy to touch, gorgeous to look at, rattles if
you shake it and smells good! (We haven't tried and don't recommend
tasting it.)
Some papers are as soft and pliable as fabric, others look and feel
like stiffly scrunched leather. There are papers from India that
feature patterns stitched with fine silver thread or embroidered in
multicolored swirls; that are embossed in an elegant floral damask pattern;
that have an all-over nail head design.
There are more -- lots more. But reading about decorative handmade
papers is not the same as seeing and feeling them for yourself. We
invite you to spend some time at the paper counter and have a "high
touch" experience.
· Established 1976 · Creative Supplies for Creative People 
